Saturday, April 15, 2017
The Big Lebowski Post
If you wish to take advantage of the make-up post opportunity, please do so here. After you've watched The Big Lebowski, please respond with your thoughts on the film's use of both the detective genre and the stoner-comedy genre. Choose one of the sequences that especially stood out to you and discuss what kind of philosophy it invoked, and why. Your response should be no less than 250 words.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
One of the many scenes that stood out to me in The Big Lebowski is when the Dude, Walter and Donny are at the bowling alley, their usual hang out spot, and Walter gets very... upset. Donny has just earned a strike with a triumphant smile on his face. Walter arrives twenty minutes late, shoes around his neck, along with Cynthia's dog carrier that has a pomeranian in it. Walter and the Dude were discussing about taking care of the dog when it's Smokey's turn to bowl and he mistakenly "goes over the line." Walter will not have it, for he takes bowling VERY seriously. Walter claims that Smokey's move is a "foul," but Smokey refuses to believe that. The Dude tries to defend Smokey, saying it was just a minor mistake, but Walter is outraged. He digs into his bag, pulls out a gun, and tells Smokey that "you're entering a world of pain." He aims the gun in between Smokey's eyes and tells Smokey to "mark it zero," which is referring to the amount of points scored. With trembling hands, Smokey does as he's told and nobody dies at that moment. It has been taught to people everywhere to stand up for what you believe in, but I think Walter's choices in this scene were a bit excessive. He doesn't get his way at uses a weapon to persuade others and that tells you a lot about his character. And throughout the entire movie, the film uses the detective genre, especially when Bunny is kidnapped, and they also have to search for the briefcase that was supposed to be used as a ransom. As for stoner-comedy, that is evident throughout the film. The Dude, Walter, and Donny smoke regularly, and drugs are a part of this movie. All of these conventions make this film a classic.
ReplyDeletethis was my first time watching The Big Lebowski. this movie was very interesting to watch. the scene in the movie that caught my attention was when Dude, Walter and Donny are at the bowling alley, which was their normal place to hang out. in the movie, walter gets really mad because when it was Smokey's turn to bowl, accidentally goes over the line. the reason walter gets mad is because he takes bowling very seriously for some reason.the dude tries to stick up for smokey by trying to tell walter that it was a small mistake and it was not that serious but walter is not trying to hear it. he goes into his bag and pulls out a gun which i found to be a little extreme for this minor situation. he wanted smokey to mark his turn as zero points earned because he feels like smokey did not deserve the points. he pointed the gun in smokey's face until he does so. this comes to show that people will go to extreme measures to defend something they believe in. throughout the film, detective genre is being used. one example is when bunny got kidnapped and they had to look for the missing ransom money. stoner-comedy was also seen in this film because of the fact that The Dude, Walter, and Donny used drugs on a regular.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Lebowski centers around “The Dude”, a lazy individual who only wants to live casually, but is dragged out of his comfort zone. This produces a comedic effect, hence the stoner comedy genre. In the plot of the movie, he is dragged into a mystery that turns out to be rather complex, thus, the detective genre. We see a complicated, undesirable world through the lens of a man who wishes to take no part in it but who only desires simple necessities. A sequence that stood out to me the most was when The Dude and Walter were spreading the ashes of Donny into the ocean. Throughout the entire movie, we see supposed “gangsters”, supposed violence, and supposed weapons, but behind these titles were simply people who wanted a quick buck. They feigned masculinity and were honestly soft individuals (the Germans for example). Often in these crime mystery films, you wonder if the main character would lose his life. The Dude doesn’t, but towards the very end of the movie, in the most unexpected way possible, Donny dies of a heart attack. Donny had such little to do with actual plot, but he received the worst punishment, which raised the question for me on why he had to die. My conclusion is that in comparison to The Dude, Donny worried too much about life. He was always questioning Walter, always rattled, always wanting to know what was going on with everyone else. The Dude only did what was necessary and lived his life as casually as possible. Donny worried too much, and he died an early death. The message in those scenes were probably that despite whatever complicated situation your forced into, relax and don’t worry yourself too much.
ReplyDeleteIn this film, initially both Jeffrey Lebowski’s are given an identity. The wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski is self absorbed, described by Maude as having a weakness of vanity, and the “Dude” is the less successful and less motivated Lebowski. In the first scenes of the two interacting, they are heavily contrasted as the story focuses on The Dude. The Dude’s story is told before the major events set in, where he is portrayed as an unemployed stoner who has a specific drink, being the White Russian, and who spends most of his time bowling with his team. By establishing these points and cementing them into the foundation of the film, the stoner comedy aspect is unfolding. The audience watches the routine of a particularly unmotivated man who is constantly under the influence of some substance and is “fighting the aggression.” So when his rug is urinated on, he takes it up with the wealthy Lebowski, and thus the merging of the stoner Lebowski with a different world. This continues throughout the film, and pushes the film towards the detective genre. What is so interesting about these shared genres is how it affects the story, and how we as the audience notice the way interactions are handled. For example, in one scene The Dude visits Maude Lebowski to discuss the money. In another scene, The Dude is taken to Jackie Treehorn to discuss the money. In both scenes, The Dude is disinterested rather than uncomfortable with his binding situation and seeks out the bar so he can make his White Russian and mention his soiled rug. These events never change the way The Dude reacts or thinks, it instead merges the two. He still drinks, smokes, bowls, and even does so frequently during these interactions. During the Jackie Treehorn scene, The Dude is drugged, and as he is going under he says “all The Dude ever wanted was his rug back.” It is an indicator of how he doesn’t belong in these exchanges at all, his world being entirely separate from theirs, and yet he is still there. During the Maude Lebowski scene, he discovers the woman is trying to become pregnant with his child. While his reaction is initially shock, he soon doesn’t care and allows these moments to flow with him as he drinks or smokes. The genres are intentionally very different and are heavily contrasted during the events, but work together comically.
ReplyDelete